Salkantay Footwear

Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu Footwear

Footwear is one of your most important things you need to consider in preparation for the Salkantay Trek Trail to Machu Picchu. Excellent footwear will make the whole trek enjoyable, bad footwear will make it memorable for all the wrong reasons. 

The Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu is largely made up of a combination of stone pathways and wide dirt tracks “all the way to the End”. For most of the year the Inca Trail hike “Classic one” is dry and the ground that you are walking on is firm and solid. Therefore walking conditions are actually very good. In the rainy season from 

November through until Mid-April, the ground can be very different and consideration needs to be taken to accommodate this. The Salkantay Trek to the lost City of the Incas also has several high altitude passes, and therefore there is a considerable amount climbing and descending along the trail. Your shoes should be supportive, yet at the same time lightweight as lifting your legs in heavy boots will fatigue your body quicker.

 Although descents may be considered easier than ascents, you are more likely to miss place your footing or slip on a descending path, and therefore you may wish to consider boots that include ankle support. 

Open toed walking sandals are not recommended for the Salkantay Trek because we have a lot of stones, as it is quite common to get a bloody toe when you accidentally kick a large step or the ground. Good quality training shoes or sneakers could also be considered, providing that the ground is dry.